


Return of the Rogues

by icandrawamoth



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Fandom Trumps Hate, Flashbacks, Gen, Minor Poe Dameron/Finn, Missions, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rogue Squadron, X-Wing(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 05:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16633904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: A reformed Rogue Squadron trained by Colonel Wes Janson and lead by Poe Dameron takes on its first real mission.





	Return of the Rogues

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ariel_astaire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariel_astaire/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A Way Forward](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13262319) by [icandrawamoth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth). 



> Written for Fandom Trumps Hate for astairelover on Tumblr. (Reads alone but techinically set in the same verse as A Way Forward.)

The briefing room is full of nervous, excited energy as they go over the plan one last time. They'll fly from the new Resistance outpost on Lah'mu to the First Order training center for children destined to become stormtroopers Finn provided them with the location of. Snap, Karé, Suralinda, and Jess will go in as a commando team in a shuttle flown by Colonel Janson while Poe, Rey, Rose, and Finn in their X-wings remain nearby, ready to offer cover if needed. The commandos will surreptitiously take out as many officers as possible, but the main goal is to gather as many of the children as they can and get them onto the ship and out of there. Then they all leave.

On the surface, it looks simple, but then so many missions do. After weeks of training, it's also the first real outing for the reformed Rogue Squadron. Everyone is anxious to prove themselves.

Rose is as nervous as anyone, but it's more of a surface buzz. Deeper down, she's confident. Colonel Wes Janson, a founding member of the original Rogues back during the Rebellion against the Empire, had suggested reforming the legendary squadron shortly after they escaped Crait, using its name as both a confidence boost to their own dwindling numbers and to strike fear into those in the First Order who remembered it.

The five members of Black Squadron had taken little convincing to take on the new mantle, but with the Resistance's starfighter numbers so devastated in recent battles, the colonel and General Organa had decided they needed more pilots. Recruitment calls were surreptitiously put out, though no one said aloud how little confidence they had in them being answer. Then Janson and Organa had turned inward.

 

_Rose stands in the hanger bay still under construction tucked between two hills on Lah'mu. She's fresh out of medical, still shaky on her legs after recovering from her crash, but what she's looking at shoots a sort of energy through her she hasn't felt in a long time. Someone has hung a poster there proclaiming the reformation of an X-wing squadron called the Rogues and asking for pilots._

_Rogue Squadron. Who hasn't heard of them? They'd grown from the remains of the squadron that took down the first Death Star, fought bravely and effectively on Hoth, saved the day at Endor, and done so much in between. The Rebellion's finest, most skilled, most daring pilots._

_Rose allows herself a moment to fantasize. Herself in an X-wing, her medallion draped over the controls like Paige used to do in Cobalt Hammer's rear turret. Going in guns blazing to defend her friends and the Resistance as a whole_

_Then she snaps out of it. No. Her skills are here on the ground. They've lost basically all of their techs, too, and they're going to need her. If they put her in a cockpit, they'd risk losing that. Plus she doesn't know how to fly a fighter..._

_“You've got that look in your eye.”_

_Rose starts and jerks to look at the man next to her. His hair is gray, his Resistance uniform battered, but his brown eyes are warm._

_“Wes Janson.” He holds out a hand._

_“Colonel,” she stumbles, shaking it automatically. “I know who you are.”_

_He smiles and nods to the poster. “So you want to be one of the new Rogues.”_

_Rose shakes her head. “I'm a mechanic, not a pilot.”_

_“Oh? Weren't you out there in the ski speeders with our people on Crait?”_

_“Yes, but–”_

_“And you're rated on shuttles.”_

_Rose flushes. Why does he know so much about her?_

_“I've been doing research on potential candidates,” Janson answers as if he's heard the unspoken question. “You, Rose Tico, are someone I would love to have. That mechanical aptitude is something we could really use as part of a new squadron, and it wouldn't take you from helping elsewhere when needed.”_

_She doesn't know what to say to that._

_“And we can train you on the X-wing,” he goes on. “It's not hard to pick up, and if you have the propensity toward it I think you might, you can be a formidable fighter in a matter of weeks.”_

_“Really?” She can feel her eyes going wide with a childlike sort of glee, but she can't quite stop it._

_Janson grins. “Really.” He claps her on the shoulder. “Can I count you in?”_

_“Absolutely.”_

 

Poe and Colonel Janson release them from the briefing and into a hanger bustling with pre-battle activity: last minute repairs being finished up, fuel lines being removed from ships, and astromechs being lifted into place. Here and there are spots of calm, though, as friends and lovers among the pilots stop to say goodbye in the event they don't each other again and murmur quiet assurances that they will.

Rose catches sight of Finn strapping into his X-wing with Poe leaning over him from the ladder, their lips sealed together in their traditional parting gesture. She feels her cheeks go a little pink as she remembers kissing Finn back on Crait, admitting that she loved him before he told her later what he and Poe were. That crush is still there, but it's fading now. She thinks anyone who wouldn't have a crush on Finn hasn't met him.

She crosses to her own fighter, passing a reverential hand over the crescent shape painted on the side of the white and blue ship. The symbol of the Otomok system and a reminder of Paige. She touches the matching medallion nestled against her skin under the orange flight suit. Her sister is always with her.

A technician hands Rose her helmet, and she thanks him, strapping it on securely before bounding up the ramp and dropping into her cockpit. She links into the X-wing's communications system and runs a systems check.

“Report in by numbers,” Poe's voice comes over the comm a moment later.

“Rogue Four, four lit and in the green,” Rose confirms when it's her turn and hears the rest of her squadmates check in similarly.

Her heart races in her chest as they lift off and the green stretches of Lah'mu fall away beneath them. The X-wing responds easily, already more a part of her than anything she's flown before, despite how little live flight practice she's had. With the Resistance still recovering, they have to conserve fuel, but she has plenty of simulator experience.

The journey to their destination will take about two hours in hyperspace, and Rose gives her astromech instructions to alert her fifteen minutes before reversion. She pulls the lever that turns the stars to a blue blur around her, then settles in to rest.

 

_There are seven other people in the conference room as Rose enters and takes a seat. The members of Black Squadron are grouped together in a corner, Rey and Finn sitting nearby. These are going to be the Rogues, Rose thinks, assuming they all pass whatever sort of tests Colonel Janson has in store for them. She has no doubt the rest will, though she's less sure about herself. She'll give it her best, though, for the Resistance and everything she's lost._

_Janson smiles as he takes to the front of the room. “I'm sure you've all heard of Rogue Squadron's long and storied past. Our founders were there at the battle to defeat the first Death Star. We helped saved the Rebellion at Mako-Ta. We fought in the Battle of Hoth. We destroyed another Death Star. We flew countless dangerous and crucial missions in between. Now, with you, we live again.”_

_He looks over them, meeting each of their gazes. Rose struggles not to look away from the deadly seriousness of his expression. “The Rogues always fought the hardest battles for justice and peace, putting the mission and the fate of galaxy ahead of ourselves. You're all members of the Resistance already; I have no doubt you will fit in perfectly here.”_

_Janson smiles again. “It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. With this squadron, we take our first steps toward bringing the fight back to the First Order. Who's with me?”_

_Even with the small number of people in the room, the roar is deafening._

 

Rose is wide awake again even without her astromech's insistent buzzing long before the brightness of hyperspace fades away. The planet that hangs before them is dark, its night side facing them, though if it was lit, Rose knows she'd be seeing the lush green of forests and ferns. On her sensor displays, the three other X-wings and the shuttle surround her in formation.

“So far so good,” Poe says. “Comm silence as soon as we hit atmo. You know what to do.”

There's a string of acknowledgments, and Rose has to shake away a shiver at a realization. If something goes wrong down there, this could be the last time she hears from one or more of her squadmates. She shakes the thought away, though; it can't be allowed to distract her.

She feels the drag on her ship at it breaks the shell of the planet's atmosphere, darkness seeming to swallow her whole, though with her sensors, the flight isn't difficult. Just a few minutes of terrain-following flying and they'll have reached their destination..

Excitement burns under her skin, stronger now. This is it. This is where the fight happens. Though if all goes to plan, and with a bit of luck, they'll rescue the kids without much fight at all.

The lights of the installation come into view in the distance, and the shuttle breaks formation, losing altitude at it goes in to land at the clearing Finn had described. _May the Force be with you_ , Rose thinks as she watches it disappear among the trees.

Silently, Poe leads Rey, Finn, and Rose in a long sweep of the area, circling just outside what they've estimated to be the base's sensor perimeter. Rose peers at what parts of the buildings she can see, totaling up defenses. Launch bays, antiaircraft turrets, sniper emplacements.

A thrum of nervousness runs through her, and she suddenly wishes comm silence weren't so integral to them keeping the element of surprise. Finn is her wingmate, and she knows just being able to exchange a few words with him would help. He's probably the worst in the squadron as far as nerves getting to him, though he's never let them down when they needed him, and she trusts he never will.

“Incoming!” Rey shouts suddenly, the comm crackling at her volume, just as a viridian beam sears out from one of the turrets, barely missing the Jedi's fighter as she jinks to starboard. Rose has no doubt without her grasp of the Force and her ability to sense the attack coming, she would have been done for. Already Poe is moving to match her, still the only member of the squadron able to keep up with the Force-sensitive pilot.

“So much for the element of surprise,” Finn mumbles over the comm.

“Orders, Lead?” Rose asks as she and her wingmate break in the opposite direction of the other pair.

“Take out the defense turrets,” Poe answers. “We keep them busy up here and hope to give the others more of head start.”

“And hope they don't have much in the way of fighter support,” Rey adds tersely.

“Spoke too soon,” Rose sighs as a siren splits the night and a squadron of TIEs rises up to meet them. She counts the blips on her monitor: eight ships.

“Eight versus four,” Poe quips. “Almost an even match for them.”

Rose grins fiercely, adrenaline pumping.

“Engage at will,” Poe says as the TIEs approach and the lead disintegrates at a laser blaster from his ship.

“On me, Three,” Rose instructs, wheeling her X-wing around to face a pair of TIEs that are coming after them. One falls to a proton torpedo as the other wheels away to come around again. A check of her sensors shows two more have already disappeared, odds evening quickly.

“I've got one on my tail,” Finn says tensely, and Rose whips her head around to find him. There on her port side, a few dozen meters back.

“I've got you,” she promises, cutting throttle to drop behind him, feeling inertia trying to press her out of her seat. A shot misses, the TIE jinking, and another blows off a wing, sending the starfighter tumbling to the ground.

“Thanks, Rose.”

“No problem.”

“I'm hit,” Rey reports flatly, and Rose's blood goes cold before she has time to add, “Not bad, but my lasers are offline. Those last three TIEs smell blood.”

She's not wrong. The remaining enemies have formed up and are making a move toward the crippled X-wing. The turrets are still firing, too, doing a good job of boxing in the Resistance forces.

“Oh, no they don't,” Poe grits out, flinging his ship between his wingmate and the approaching TIEs. They don't take the bait, though, and he swerves from his arc of flight, barely missing a line of fire from a turret.

Rose swallows hard, considering her options. “Finn,” she decides. “Help Poe. I'm going after the turrets.”

“By yourself?” he answers, disbelief coloring his tone.

“Yep. Don't worry about me. Rey needs you.”

“Good luck.”

She watches him flash toward their embattled comrades and sets herself up for a run at the turrets. They already seem to be anticipating her movement, fire swinging in her direction. She takes a deep breath and takes a moment to plan her attack.

 

_Colonel Janson is frowning deeply as the canopy of Rose's simulator rises. He's serious a lot of the time – far, far more serious than he was in younger days if the talk can be believed – but rarely this upset._

_“You're dead,” he says succinctly._

_Rose glares. “The rest of the squadron isn't, though. Finn isn't. I saved him.”_

_“Yes, just like you did back on Crait.”_

_“What's that supposed to mean?”_

_Janson sighs. “Rose, there's nothing wrong with self-sacrifice. Sometimes a pilot has to die so the rest can live. It's just a fact. I've been flying and fighting for nearly forty years; I've seen it happen over and over.” Pain stitches across his face, and Rose wonders at the stories he isn't telling._

_“So why are you angry?”_

_“Self-sacrifice is good and brave and noble – when it's_ necessary _. Throwing ones life away isn't the same thing. That's just a waste, especially when there are so few of us to begin with.”_

_Finn has emerged from his simulator by now too and is looking over at them, and Rose isn't sure whether she wants him to interfere or not._

_“Tell me, Rose,” Janson says, recapturing her attention. “Was it truly necessary for you to suicidally take on all those TIEs by yourself? Or could you have waited until you had backup?”_

_Rose grits her teeth and looks away. Perhaps she was trying to be a hero. Perhaps she_ was _wrong._

_Janson nods curtly as if he's seen the thought. “You'll do better next time. And if it ever comes down to it in a live battle, I'm sure you'll do the right thing.”_

 

She's not being foolish or unnecessarily self-sacrificing now. Death isn't the plan; taking out the turrets to keep them from killing her squadmates is. Poe and Finn are busy defending Rey; this part is up to her.

Rose focuses on her targets, sets her intentions, lets the ship move around her like it's part of her own body. She thinks of all the pilots who have come before her. Of Luke Skywalker, who first formed the Rogues, regardless of what he became later. Of Wedge Antilles, his partner, who fought two Death Stars and was lost on Hosnian Prime. Of all the brave souls who died to defeat Starkiller and the Dreadnought over D'Qar. Of Paige and the life she'll never have. And finally of the friends flying with her now and below on the surface. Rose is one of them. She can do this.

She kicks her thrusters to full, dancing the X-wing back and forth between lines of fire. She stitches lasers across the nearest corner of the base, the first turret exploding in a ball of orange flame. A blink later, she's on the other side of the building, inverting her fighter to avoid another attack, fire lancing out to destroy another target. One left.

Rose's ship jolts as a shot wings it, and she swallows panic. Can't let herself be distracted. She's fine; the ship still feels fine. She loops around for another pass, catching a glimpse of the tangle of ships on the far side before diving straight for the last turret. Lasers belch up at her in a constant stream, green and deadly. She jinks her ship up and down, waiting for the targeting reticle to go red.

 _There_. She fires a proton torpedo, and then she's flashing past the turret, catching the glow of the explosion from her periphery, and it matches the warm satisfaction in her chest.

“Wahoo!” comes a cry across the comm. “Excellent flying, Four!”

She grins. “Thanks, Lead. Everything good over there?”

“Took care of the troublemakers,” he confirms. “Skies clear for now.” The comm goes silent for a few moments, then he comes back. “Ground team reports one of those shots knocked out power down there. Everything's in chaos, no organized FO response inside. They have the kids and are on there way out. Head back to cover the LZ.”

As she loops around, Rose can just see the crowd running across the grass and into the trees. That warm feeling is still in her chest when she thinks about the kids they'll have saved today. They're not home free yet, she knows that, but they're so close.

Minutes later, they get confirmation from Colonel Janson, and then the shuttle is taking off, Poe and Rey leading and Rose and Finn hanging back as rear guard.

“We did good today, Rogues,” Poe says triumphantly as they leave the atmosphere. “No losses, mission accomplished. Excellent work. Drinks on Janson when we get back.”

Rose barely catches the colonel's indignant squawk as she pulls her hyperdrive lever on command and space around her dissolves.

 _Mission accomplished._ She likes those words.


End file.
